Sports ramblings…with a Yankees bias!

Killing Time Until Next Week…

Waiting for the Baseball Winter Meetings to start seems
like an eternity.The meetings are next
week, but this week has been relatively slow aside from today’s free agent
signing of Adam Dunn by the Chicago White Sox (nice pickup, by the way).When I woke up, I was met with the headline
of ‘Yankees Re-Sign Sergio Mitre’.Unfortunately, that did little to excite me…

I am not a “Meat Tray” fan, but for some reason, manager Joe
Girardi has been in his corner since his days as manager of the Florida
Marlins.Conversely, the Yankees
non-tendered Dustin Moseley today which I thought was a mistake.Moseley proved to be very capable as a spot
starter and bullpen arm.I realize that
if the Yankees sign Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte returns (which everyone
expects), then Ivan Nova becomes the “#6″ starter.Also, re-signing Mitre had an impact.But, still, it was a mistake to let go of
Moseley.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images

The Yankees decision to non-tender pitcher Alfredo Aceves
surprised me somewhat.However, when I
heard that he had re-injured himself this off-season in a freak accident (bike
accident), I realized that it would probably be best for him to start over
somewhere else.The Yankees did tender
the guys that really mattered (Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan, and Phil Hughes).

The Yankees quietly signed relief pitcher Buddy Carlyle
who is returning from Japan.Carlyle
underachieved during his previous major league stint, most recently with the
Atlanta Braves in 2009.Nevertheless,
you can never have enough fodder for the bullpen during spring training.As the Tampa Bay Rays showed last year, you
never know what you might find (stellar setup artist Joaquin Benoit).

I was pleased to see the Derek Jeter negotiations take a
positive turn this week.Jeter and his
agent Casey Close were smart to engage the Yankees in Tampa.There has been no negative comments made by
either side this week and it appears the Yankees are willing to increase their
offer while the Jeter side is willing to reduce their demands.Everybody knows this marriage will continue
so there was no sense airing the dirty laundry in the difficult
negotiations.Hopefully, they’ll come
to an agreement sooner rather than later so that we can move on to more
important things…like signing Cliff Lee!

Speaking of Jeter, it’s funny how much attention this has
gotten. Troy Tulowitzki, arguably one of the greatest shortstops in the game
today, signs a huge long-term extension and it gets marginal print.DJ, a soon-to-be 37-year old, past his prime,
shortstop garners national attention.The photos of Jeter in other uniforms were particularly humorous.I’m sure that Julia loved Red Sock Jeter…

The Beckett Blog

While I saw that Zack Greinke might be willing to waive
his no-trade clause for the Yankees, I’d have to say that I still prefer Cliff
Lee.I know that Cliff will soon be 32
and Greinke is about 6 years younger, but the difference is that I know Cliff
can handle New York.Plus, he would only
cost money whereas Greinke would cost quality prospects plus money in the
long-term.I want to see Jesus Montero
as the Yankees starting catcher in 2011 so I am hopeful that the Yankees aren’t
faced with a scenario where they “need” to acquire Greinke.

AP

Can I wake up to the headline ‘Yankees Re-Sign Rivera’
tomorrow, please?…

Kathy Willens/AP

P.S. I have to show this video clip. The veteran on the left, Fang Wong, is my wife’s uncle and he is one of the greatest people I’ve met in my life. His strong sense of humor doesn’t show through but I can assure you he is one of the funniest and most intelligent guys I’ve met. Plus, he is a die-hard Yankees fan…

1 Comment

Very happy the Yanks made their deal with Mo and that drama is over with. Now on to Jeter who, hopefully, will be signed by the end of the weekend. I, too, was surprised about Moseley and Aceves. What happened to Cashman’s “You can never have enough pitching?” Strange.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.